Chicago People Beware
 

This email was forwarded to me by a friend, from her friend. Apparently this recently happened and has been a recurring event as of late:

Hello Everyone,

I just found out that one of my friends was assaulted on the lake path (near McCormick) when he was out for a long ride last night around 7pm. Apparently, a group of about eight men (about 17/18 years old) jumped out at him with long sticks and started taking swings. He was hit. They were trying their best to take him down. Fortunately, my friend, an extremely experienced cyclist, was able to maintain his composure and ride north until he found a police office.The incident was reported. Based on what the officer said, attacks like this have been becoming more of a problem.

dang. so does anyone make carbon fiber body armour?

jeff

Yea, how about it!

It's that type of impish behavior that necessitated the invention of the handgun.

Enjoy

thats what you should wear your chain lock around your waist....they'll need armour

yeah i've got the u-lock "holster" on my baileyworks.
of course this begs the question: when would you actually
attack someone with your lock? me: I'll try to bike away
every single time, but I've also pulled out my lock when
I've gotten in stationary arguments.

jeff

Eight guys with sticks vs one cyclist with a lock.....you go tough guy.

Enjoy

Sounds like the bull that has been going on here on the south side. You can read up more here. Or grab some Google news action.

Basically a bunch of punks between 14-16 think its cool to attack males walking alone. It has been going on for quite a while now. I have heard about some attacks on the bike path at night as well. Most of the attackers have been from Kenwood Academy (5015 South Blackstone). Lately this has become the cool thing to do for these punks. People say that the attacks have been dying down though. I would still keep an eye out.

Now a Glock on the other hand...

bring it

macguyver didnt use guns...i dont use guns

I carry UV coating pepper spray in my bag. If you spray someone, it will leave a blue coat on their face for up to a week, or so I was told. A few close calls coming home late at night, but thankfully I haven't had to use it yet.

Carry a long lead pipe that can be carried on your back like a samurai

Citizens, citizens...

http://www.eatmyflames.com/

I bought a blackjack the other day for the cabbi ****s, and am purchasing 2 extendable batons--time to go bruce lee on them biatches. werd.

damn. i knew i stopped taking the lakepath for a reason. that area around mccormick is sketchy anyway, it's never lit right, it's secluded, although it is a good place to pee (right ryan?).

if you want to bypass that area, coming from the south get off at 31st go over to MLK Dr. go north and when you hit the highway either keep going north (MLK wraps around and becomes cermak, then go north on wabash to roosevelt and back over or do whatever) or take a right under the highway and take the bus route which runs along the tracks, that goes all the way to randolph w/ absolutely no traffic/people, etc. Or right before you hit the southside of mccormick take a left on the path that veers off and then you can take the car/bus/parking route that runs right under mccormick and comes out by soldiers field.

same in reverse for coming from the north.

does that make any sense? or am i drunk already?

val.

Some homeboys tried to shoot me with a slingshot on the Damen bridge.

A SLINGSHOT? Is this a "throwback" weapon of choice?

Luckily me & my trust Nokia called the po-po's.

hmmm....lead pipe...honestly....i prefer a clasic crowbar...more hand positions..(ha!)

First it's the gangs of 15 year old kids trying to beat up us college students and now this. I'm definitely going to be wearing my helmet from now on.

MacGyver

i remember, along that same area years ago, some young'uns would walk along the path, and when you'd ride by them they would just push you from the side and make you go down. then they'd take the bike.

Interesting, in my neck of the woods, MLK Dr goes through the bad side of town.

Crime was one of the reasons I moved out of Atlanta Georgia. What a miserable place to live. :mad: Another reason was traffic ... http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=103007

It is odd though how people on bikes get hassled so much. I've never been attacked but the neighborhood school kids (brats) are always yelling a bunch of BS at me or anybody else when we ride by. Sometimes I'd love to wring their precious little necks and pound the living crap out of their parents for being so permissive. If my Dad had ever seen me harass somebody like that he would have beaten my arse good with a belt! Times were very different then and children didn't rule the household.

I weep for the future! - the Maitre D' in Ferris Beuller's Day Off

On the south side around 55th I think there is a restroom that has a roof low enough for people to climb onto. Kids go up there and throw rocks at cyclists. They hit me once and I stopped and called the police. When the police arrived the officers found the kids and started throwing rocks at them. That was fun. The kids came over and told me they were sorry; but I'm sure they could have really cared less about some goofball in spandex riding a fancy bike.

That must have been worth it to see cops throwing rocks at the kids!

The old Sears, Roebuck catalogs used to sell a fine line of pistols for bike riders, for aggressive dogs, yeah, that's it, dogs.

Actually, it was. They were smart enough to miss on purpose; but it was fun. They were shouting "how would you like it if someone threw rocks at you?!" Also, the kids were smart enough to stand there. The cops went to them and I could not follow so I could not hear the conversation. In reality it probably went something like "here's the deal - that guy looks so stupid in his tights, there's frozen snot on his face. So let's go over there and I'll make you applogize so he can go home and put some pants on and chip those snotcicles off. Act like you will never do it again and we'll drive you home; it's getting cold."

It was a cold, wet day and while I was trying to walk back to the path from the lakefront, I was slipping and wobbling in the mud because i had road shoes on. Then I heard the cop car spinning out in the mud behind me. It had gotten stuck with the three kids in the back. I'm sure the kids took it all so seriously at this point. That car tore the s*it out of the grass for about four minutes before it finally got some traction.